Be prepared, but don't panic, when layoffs hit

TINA VANDERWAL

Originally published Monday, March 25, 2002

How do you keep from worrying when everything around you seems to be crumbling?

Add up budget deficits, budget cuts and the elimination of our pay raise, and an overwhelming cloud of gloom seems to be hanging over state government.

I remember as a child being terrified of the atom bomb.

During talks between President Kennedy and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, our newspaper published a map outlining where the bomb would hit and concentric circles that showed areas that would be affected by the radiation.

Our town was in the circle of the main blast. We used to have practice air raid warnings almost every day.

One day at school during an air raid, the sirens sounded at the same time that large planes flew overhead.

I didn't know it at the time, but the teachers had been notified of other practice air raid warnings. They had received no such warning that day.

As we students crawled under our desks, I looked up to see my teacher crying. I thought we were going to die.

In later years, people would identify our generation not only as the baby boomers, but also as the bomb-scare children. Of course, the bomb never hit -- thank God.

But I think the experience taught a lot of us two valuable lessons about life.

- Don't worry about things that are out of your control.

There are some things in life that we can't control. Budget cuts and reduction-in-force layoffs are things that are out of our control.

When things are out of your control, they are not worth worrying about.

During the bomb threat years, some people worried themselves into serious illness.

It would be like worrying about the next earthquake or terrorist attack. Experts have warned us that another earthquake might happen and terrorists might strike, but we can't prevent either one.

Could a reduction-in-force affect your position? Possibly.

Can you prevent it from happening? No.

So there is no sense in worrying about matters that are out of your control.

- Be prepared.

People should be prepared if disaster strikes.

Being prepared is smart and, for some reason, seems to decrease some of the worry.

I think it gives us the feeling that we have some control. During the bomb scares, people prepared for the possibility of a nuclear attack.

Our richer neighbors built bomb shelters or moved their families away from targeted cities.

The bomb shelters didn't save their lives, but I'm certain they felt safer than those of us who dove under our desks.

Since the last earthquake, many Washington residents have prepared for earthquakes.

Companies have strengthened buildings; employees have fastened computers to their desks and removed dangerous objects from the tops of shelves.

Some of us have even bought earthquake insurance.

For terrorist attacks, security has been increased at airports and major events, and mailroom employees have been trained to identify suspicious packages.

In the same way, state employees need to be prepared for possible reduction-in-force layoffs.

Becoming knowledgeable about the reduction-in-force process, reviewing your finances and updating resumes can help you survive a time without your normal income.

These are very stressful times, not just for state workers but for our entire state.

Earthquakes, the threat of terrorist attacks, layoffs and increasing crime and violence added to the daily pressures of working and raising families are enough to consume anyone with worry.

But worrying about things that are out of your control won't prevent them from happening. As the song goes, "Don't worry, be happy."

Tina VanderWal is human resources manager in the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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